Saturday, October 2, 2010

Butternut Squash Bread

Each season brings with it wonderful new foods. Currently, we are relishing in Autumn's bounty of apples, pears, persimmons, turnips (I bought my first ever rutabaga today), sweet potatoes, pumpkins, and squash. A local farmer sells produce about a block away from our apartment, and Alfred has been visiting his farm stand nearly everyday - butternut squash, one of our favorites, are only $1 each. Alfred, always the cunning bargain hunter, has been buying nearly a dozen per week (I am not joking!).

What are we doing with all of this squash? One of my favorite breakfasts (my breakfast today actually) is roasted butternut squash with toasted pecans, served over sauteed greens. I simply peel, seed (save the seeds for toasting like pumpkin seeds!), and dice the squash. Then toss it with a little olive oil and salt, spread it on a baking sheet and roast at 400 degrees until the pieces are fully cooked (about 45 minutes, but it will depend on the size of your chunks). Cooked, pureed butternut squash is also a great substitute for pumpkin in baked goods - pies, muffins, cookies, breads, you name it! To prepare the puree I cut the squash in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, place the squash halves cut side down in a large baking dish, add about 1/4 cup of water, cover the dish with foil and bake the squash for 1 hour, or until tender. Allow the squash to cool a little, then use a spoon to scoop out all the flesh and puree it or mash it well. You can also freeze the puree for use later on (Turkey Day is just around the corner!). Butternut squash also store incredibly well - they will last for months at room temperature - so we are stalking up for the winter!

One of Alfred's favorite butternut squash flavored baked treats is the quick bread recipe posted below. You can also make muffins with the same recipe, just adjust the baking time to around 20 minutes. If you are not in the mood to roast your own squash, you can certainly substitute canned pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling).

1) Preheat your oven to 375 degrees, lightly coat a standard (9 x 5) loaf pan with a little olive oil (a pastry brush is useful for this).2) Sift the dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl, thoroughly combine the wet ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, stir gently until you have a smooth batter.3) Pour the batter into the oiled loaf pan, sprinkle the top of the batter with the pepitas (if using).4) Bake the bread for 45-55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 5) Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove it from the pan and dig in.

Allow the bread to cool completely before wrapping it in foil to store any leftovers.

Hey Naomi - I read on a blog the other day that you can freeze diced, uncooked squash pieces. So, maybe you can buy yourself a squash and cook a serving at a time. But, the rest of the family don't know what they are missing out on! Do they like sweet potatoes? If so, you could always tell them that's what they are eating - a little white lie never hurt :)

I'm always looking for ways to use up squash. I think that stuff multiplies quicker than rabbits! This looks delicious. Bread + one less squash, that's got to be good, right?

I would like to offer up one more link for you. I host a Meatless Monday flickr group and Midnight Maniac Meatless Mondays blog carnival. I would love to have your Meatless Monday photos added to the group and welcome you to link your Meatless Monday blog posts to the carnival. The first carnival started today!

Thanks for adding, Ashlie and/or Alfred, not sure which one I'm talking to. I believe I have some butternut squash puree left in the freezer and it's really cold in the house right now, so some bread baking may be in order. I'll let you know how it goes.

Julie - Thanks! I'm so glad you stopped by! Please let me know how it turns out if you give it a try!

Butteryum - I am planning to make a butternut squash soup very soon! I have a lot of squash to use up :). It will be my first time making it, I'll have to check out your recipe if you have it posted!

Rainey - I always opt for baking quickbreads and muffins over cakes that require lots of special techniques, I'm sure you'll have no problems with this one! Canned pumpkin puree makes it even easier :)

About Me

We love to cook, love to eat, and love to read, write and talk about cooking and eating! In short, we live for food. On this blog you'll find simple, healthy (usually), tasty (hopefully) recipes from our tiny kitchen!